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New Music Monthly

2. November 2015

This month I’ve been really spoilt by the amount of great releases. I’ve processed thousands of tracks and whittled it down to my top 25. Check out what made the list below and listen to the full playlist here

Organised Scum- Insane Making BehaviourI’m writing this on a lazy Sunday, and this track is perfect for lovely lazy Sundays. There’s nothing lazy about the production of this track though, and every time I play it back I notice another little detail that makes me smile.

Drunk Mule- NorthsideThe lazy Sunday vibe continues with the next track. The laid-back sound conjures images of flat open landscapes, and an eternity to saunter across it.

Memory Flowers- Life is GloriousA gentle American rock tune here, but with a grounded and heartfelt carpe diem. You won’t be able to get the chorus out your head all week and it practically makes up for the final jaunty phrase on the guitar at the end.

Matthew the Ox- Beyond the GatesMatthew has been a favourite of mine for a while- and this Cashian (as, like Jonny Cash, not like Kim) American clean picking combined with Country slide picks up his cowboy drawl beautifully.

John Joseph Brill- The Grape and the GrainTo me, this meaningful track sounds like peering through a haze of cigarette smoke up at a cracked ceiling as dawn arrives. Exactly what needs to be played as when you reach the mellow sobriety before you start to come-down.

Sam Wright- Get LuckySuccessful covers don’t just imitate, they show the original in a new light. Sam has made this seem effortless with his wistful and subdued version of the Daft Punk hit that coveys painful disappointment with humanity.

Andrew Howie- VictoryI feel like an intruder listening to this track. The tone is so intimately personal, witnessing it is like being caught in a PDA. There’s something sweet about it nonetheless and I can’t make light of the way his gravelly croon is dusted by her breathless trill.

Snippet- Digital YesFans of Lemon Jelly need look no further. The ambient droning grove is fully supported by a heart-warming sound-bite and is the aural equivalent of sinking into a soft sofa.

Acre-Tarn- LanternsLanterns took me by suprise, it’s a lot heavier and a lot deeper than the introductory (panpipes?) gave away. Her voice is strong enough to carry through the impressive range that beats its way into your skull.

Hayley Cannon- Who Are You?Similarly just wait for the third minute of Hayley Cannon’s latest recording. Once it strikes up the tempo the intensity cranks up and up leaving you vibrating with amnesia and energy.

Ever- HomeBirdsong as a backing track always scores an extra point. This ditty is full of nothing but twiddly, fiddly twitterings, but in a really great way.

Colony House- SilhouettesIf the Kooks had been a little more Rock & Roll… Best new indie this month with all the vocal hooks, noodly guitar phrases and simplistic rhythm.

CARW- FeathersSome more dreamy jangly electronic nonsense now. Lovely to sway to in a bubble factory.

UOVO- Love AnthemThis band is new to me but here they’ve somehow managed to combine uneasiness with whimsicality (yes it’s a word). Kind of like looking back on Captain Pugwash.

Fortnight in Florida- Save Our CityDroning ambient hypnotism at it’s finest. Fans of The American Analogue Set please stop here.

Matt Mereport- Are You Left or Right-Handed?
Ghosts swim through this wonderful combination of piano and Erhu. Matt tells us it was recorded in ‘cavernous surroundings.’ Wherever that was- it sounds beautiful.

Mike Vass- A Meditation on LossI’ve associated Mike with his earlier ocean-inspired folk. This is (to me) a new tack where he sensitively handles a difficult theme. He does fantastically as this is highly emotional but charged with a real uplifting boost- portraying grief as a strong healing process.

Unquiet Nights- Don’t Wanna Kill for ReligionFew would disagree with the title sentiment, but with recent political events this is a message that perhaps needs reinforcing. Either way these guys take us on a nice droney journey that is full of guitar solos, slick bass and a relentless pounding of drums.

Fins a Luminous- Funeral ShakeNihilism and dissatisfcation with modern urban life seeps through from this song. It is powerful- do not listen if already feeling emotionally unstable!